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OPINION

Message to Mississippi senators: Do not confirm Brett Kavanaugh

Carol Burnett, Guest Columnist
Published 1:23 p.m. CT Oct. 2, 2018

CLOSE

President Donald Trump held a packed rally where he touted the renogiated deal with Mexico and Canada and praised his Supreme Court nominee as 'a good man.' (Oct. 1)

I am a Mississippian — one of the citizens our Senators are in Congress to represent — and I am opposed to Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court. I have written Senator Roger Wicker and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith to express my opposition and I urge all Mississippians to let our Senators know your position, too. It is not a foregone conclusion that every Mississippian agrees with the Senate Republicans’ partisan rush to confirm the unpopular Kavanaugh.

Multiple allegations of criminal sexual assault are the most recent problems with Kavanaugh. However, even if the FBI investigation turns up little useful information, supporters of Kavanaugh will use the fact that the FBI investigated these allegations as cover to move ahead with his confirmation. I urge everyone not to forget that Kavanaugh has lied under oath and a partisan soldier. These problems with his candidacy for the Supreme Court have been recently overshadowed by the cruel theater the Republicans put Dr. Christine Blasey Ford through. It was in this theater performance where Kavanaugh pulled off the mask of nonpartisanship and went on a partisan rant, disrespecting half the Senate Committee because they are Democrats.

Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed. He lied under oath, and that is a crime. He has made clear that he thinks the president is above the law, and should not be held accountable even if he is proven to be guilty of crimes. Even for those eager to see legal abortion outlawed, Kavanaugh represents a danger to women’s health and well-being. He jeopardizes women’s ability to access contraception and make basic decisions about when and if they will become pregnant and start a family — decisions that are basic to women’s physical and economic well-being. Kavanaugh’s record indicates he will oppose civil rights and protect corporations from regulations designed to limit pollution. Kavanaugh is a partisan loyalist, not an objective jurist.

That Republicans in Congress are so eager to have this unpopular nominee confirmed ahead of the midterm elections is, itself, deeply troubling — another indication that this appointment is about politics and not about American justice.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(Photo: Getty Images)

I urge you to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court and to let our Mississippi senators know your position.